Social Security

In the United States, Social Security is primarily the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance federal program. The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended, encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs. Social Security is funded through payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax and/or Self Employed Contributions Act Tax. Tax deposits are collected by the Internal Revenue Service and are formally entrusted to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, or the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund which make up the Social Security Trust Funds. With a few exceptions, all salaried income, up to a specifically determined amount by law has an FICA and/or SECA tax collected on it. All income over said amount is not taxed, for 2014 the maximum amount of taxable earnings is $117,000. With few exceptions, all legal residents working in the United States now have an individual Social Security number.